June 23, 2011

Tonight's NBA draft is enormous not just for those two kids, but also for Mark Fox and the basketball program. As we've said numerous times here, Fox's basic pitch is "come to Georgia and your dreams can come true. There's no reason to leave the state when your dreams can come true while you play in front of your friends and family."

To make that pitch truly come to life reality, he had to prove:
-- That he could convince Georgia fans to sellout SEC games. (Done)
-- Get Georgia into the NCAA Tourney. (Done)
-- Put kids from in state AAU programs into the NBA (Pending)

Neither player is a lock first round draft pick, and it's possible that both could go completely undrafted. Given the league's rule that only first round picks have guaranteed deals, I still can't fathom Travis going pro. But that's water under the bridge.

The reality is...Georgia basketball desperately needs these two kids to get drafted as high as possible, and it would certainly energize our recruiting pitch. Heaven knows, Fox needs all the assistance he can get on the recruiting trail right now.